Bengaluru, 13 June

Karnataka Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka slammed the State Congress government over an alleged shortage of fertilisers in the State.

The Agricultural Department has stated that at least 60 per cent of Karnataka’s fertiliser is imported via the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed due to the US-Israel war on Iran. The department said fertiliser availability from April to September is 34 per cent lower than the demand.

This is compounded by the lack of Diammonium Phosphate (DAG) fertiliser, commonly used in cash crops like cotton. In Bidar, for example, the government advised farmers not to rely solely on DAP fertiliser and instead use alternative complex fertilisers.

However, Ashoka alleged that the problem ran deeper. He noted that there was no Agriculture Minister after the government’s Chief Minister change and Cabinet reshuffle. “The Congress government are engrossed only in the tussle over portfolio allocations,” Ashoka stated on X.

“According to the official figures from the Agriculture Department, the State supposedly has 10.65 lakh metric tons of chemical fertilizer in stock,” he added. But there was no fertiliser in dozens of districts, Ashoka claimed.

Ashoka alleged that farmer contact centres either had no stock of fertilisers, or farmers were made to wait in lines only to be given one bag per acre.

“A government that spends thousands of crores on promoting guarantees doesn't even have the basic capacity to deliver fertiliser to farmers on time?” Ashoka added, asking when an agricultural minister would be appointed.